Fishing line guide and fishing rod with the same

ABSTRACT

A branching position having two supporting legs of a fishing rod guide having two supporting legs formed by three sets of fiber-reinforced resin layers disposed in a fishing rod is sealed by a thermoset resin member or a prepreg.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is the U.S. National Stage of PCT/JP2012/079595, filed Nov. 15,2012, which in turn claims priority to Japanese Patent Application Nos.2011-249898, filed Nov. 15, 2011 and 2012-073603, filed Mar. 28, 2012,the entire contents of all applications are incorporated herein byreference in their entireties.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a fishing line guide that is formed ofa resin material impregnating a reinforced fiber, and a fishing rodincluding the fishing line guide.

BACKGROUND ART

There are fishing rods in which a plurality of fishing line guides topass through a fishing line to an outside (hereinafter, referred to as afishing line guide) is disposed as a rod for fishing in general(hereinafter, referred to as a fishing rod). The fishing line guide thatis disposed in such fishing rods is mounted on either an upper surfaceor a lower surface of the rod depending on the type of reel that isused.

For example, in a fishing rod on which a double-axis reel (or a baitreel that is used on freshwater and seawater) that is in wide use inboat fishing is mounted, the fishing line guide is mounted on an upperside of the fishing rod. In a fishing rod on which a spinning reel thatis used on a rocky shore, a sandy beach, or a pond in many cases ismounted, the fishing line guide is mounted on a lower side of thefishing rod. Usually, these fishing line guides are configured to have aguide ring formed of SiC or the like that is fitted into a frame formedof a metal material such as titanium and stainless steel such that thefishing line is inserted and supported.

CITATION LIST Patent Literature

PTL 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No.2011-004651

SUMMARY Technical Problem

Strength has been improved and reduction in weight of the rod throughreduction in diameter has been achieved by advancement of manufacturingtechniques of fishing rods. In a case where the multiple fishing lineguides described above having a metal frame are mounted on the fishingrod that is reduced in weight, the weight of the rod as a wholeincreases. For example, when the fishing rod having a spinning reel suchas a throwing rod with a length of 4 m or more is used, a user wants tocast an artificial fish bait from a seashore to the sea as far aspossible. Accordingly, the flying distance is affected by a castingspeed of the rod tip along with a supple flexibility of the fishing rodand thus a long cast operation is greatly affected by a flexuralcondition of the rod and reduction in weight.

As an example of fishing line guides reduced in weight, PTL 1 proposes afishing line guide in which the frame is formed of a prepreg, that is, areinforced fiber such as a carbon material over a plurality of layersimpregnated with a thermosetting resin in an aligning manner or isformed of a woven base material. PTL 1 proposes a fishing line guideformed of the prepreg and having a one-leg (so-called single-foot)supporting leg portion connected to one fixed portion, and having atwo-leg (so-called double-foot) supporting leg portion connected to twofixed portions. Only a conceptual configuration is presented for thetwo-leg fishing line guide.

In a case where the two-leg fishing line guide is actually formed, thetwo-leg fishing line guide has a structure in which a branching positionis present to branch from one ring holding section to front and rearsupporting leg portions. The branching position is bonded and thermosetas illustrated in FIG. 11 such that three sets of sheet members 11, 12,and 13 abut against each other. These sheet members are formed into awoven fabric in which reinforced fibers such as carbon fibers are woventhrough plain weaving or into an aligned shape in which the respectivefibers are arranged to be parallel. Accordingly, when folding isperformed during the bonding, the respective thin fibers are folded tocause a problem of weakened strength.

Accordingly, a structure in which at least one sheet member 13 isattached from a lower side to a branching position A of the two sets ofthe sheet members 11 and 12 branching forward and backward from the ringholding section not to be folded for abutting against each other hasbeen suggested as illustrated in FIG. 11. When the sheet members arecured, a central part 19 of the branching position A becomes a gap, andis sealed by the resin oozing out from each of the sheet members tocause manufacturing variations in the fishing line guide.

In addition, a user may consider the sealing of the central part of thebranching position A as non-defective and the presence of the gap may bedetermined as defective as the case may be even in the fishing lineguide satisfying design performances (manufacturing standards) despitethe presence of the gap at the branching position.

An object of the present invention is to provide a fishing line guide inwhich the abundance ratio of the gap at a branching position is constantwhile having no manufacturing variations, reduced in weight, and formedof a resin material impregnating a reinforced fiber, and a fishing rodincluding the fishing line guide.

Furthermore, in a case where the fishing line guide is configured tohave the one-leg (so-called single-foot) supporting leg portionconnected to the one fixed portion as illustrated in FIG. 14a , forexample, a load from a fly line passing through the guide ring isimposed in a concentrated manner on the bent part rising from the fixedportion fixing the fishing line guide to the fishing rod to thesupporting leg portion. In addition, when the fishing rod is carried, animpact on the bent part becomes great in the same manner even when a tipside of the guide ring is bumped.

As such, the prepreg is added to be formed to be thick and requiredstrength is achieved to cover the bent part between the fixed portionand the supporting leg portion. In addition, a prepreg having the samethickness as or a thickness greater than the thickness of the prepregarranged in the inner portion is formed to be attached to both surfacesof the guide ring such that a seam or the like is not exposed.

In this structure as illustrated in FIG. 20, a step between a fibersheet 110 a additionally arranged for reinforcement and a fiber sheet110 b in a lower layer may cause a small and substantially triangulargap m between a fiber sheet 109 a and a fiber sheet 110 a arranged tocover the surface when pressing and a thermal treatment are performed bya mold. In a case where the gap m is present, the strength is reducedcompared to the absence of the gap m and variations in strengthproperties are generated. Furthermore, blocking of the gap m may beconsidered as non-defective and the presence of the gap may bedetermined as defective as the case may be even when the strengthproperties of the fishing line guide are within a design performance(manufacturing standard) range. In addition, it is preferable that thegap m be sealed in terms of external appearance.

An object of the present invention is to provide a fishing line guide inwhich a gap generated by a sheet end portion of a fishing line guideformed by a plurality of laminated fiber-reinforced resin sheets isblocked, reduction in strength is prevented, and an excellent externalappearance is achieved, and a fishing rod including the fishing lineguide.

Solution to Problem

In order to achieve the above-described object, according to anembodiment of the present invention, there is provided a fishing lineguide in which a fishing line guide section guiding a fishing line, afirst leg portion extending in one direction from an end portion of thefishing line guide section and having a fixed portion disposed at a tip,and a second leg portion branching from either one of the end portion ofthe fishing line guide section and the first leg portion to extend inanother direction and having a fixed portion disposed at a tip areintegrally configured, the fishing line guide including a firstfiber-reinforced resin layer where a plurality of sheet-shaped syntheticresins containing reinforced fibers are laminated to form the fishingline guide section and the first leg portion, a second fiber-reinforcedresin layer where the synthetic resins forming the fishing line guidesection and the second leg portion are laminated to be fixed to thefirst fiber-reinforced resin layer to the branching position, a thirdfiber-reinforced resin layer where the synthetic resins are laminated toreach from the first leg portion to the second leg portion through thebranching position and be fixed to the first fiber-reinforced resinlayer and the second fiber-reinforced resin layer, and a branching gapmember surrounded by the first fiber-reinforced resin layer to the thirdfiber-reinforced resin layer and positioned in the branching position.

In order to achieve the above-described objects, according to anotherembodiment of the present invention, there is provided a fishing lineguide with a frame main body in which a plurality of fiber sheets inwhich a plurality of reinforced fibers are arranged and impregnated witha resin material having either thermosetting properties or athermoplastic properties are laminated such that an annular fishing lineguide section guiding a fishing line, a supporting leg portion extendingfrom an end portion of the fishing line guide section, and a fixedportion bent and extending from a tip side of the supporting leg portionare integrally configured, the fishing line guide including a gapsealing member impregnating the reinforced fiber arranged along anextension direction of the end portion with the resin material withrespect to a short-width fiber sheet not reaching an end surface of theframe main body and having an end portion in a lamination, in which thegap sealing member is arranged to abut along the end portion of theshort-width fiber sheet and blocks a gap generated between an endsurface of the end portion and the fiber sheet laminated to pinch theend surface by changing a cross-sectional shape during pressing andheating toward the frame main body.

Advantageous Effects of Invention

According to an embodiment of the present invention, it is possible toprovide a fishing line guide in which the abundance ratio of the gap ata branching position is constant while having no manufacturingvariations and formed of a resin material impregnating a reinforcedfiber to be reduced in weight and increased in strength, and a fishingrod including the fishing line guide.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, it is possibleto provide a fishing line guide in which a gap generated by a sheet endportion of a fishing line guide formed by a plurality of laminatedfiber-reinforced resin sheets is blocked, reduction in strength isprevented, and an excellent external appearance is achieved, and afishing rod including the fishing line guide.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a view illustrating an external configuration of a fishing rodthat includes a fishing line guide according to an embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 2 is a view illustrating an external configuration of the fishingline guide according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a view illustrating a cross-sectional structure of the fishingline guide.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view illustrating a branching position of thefishing line guide.

FIG. 5 is a conceptual view illustrating press molding-basedmanufacturing for forming the fishing line guide.

FIG. 6a is a view illustrating an external configuration of a curedprepreg including the fishing line guide manufactured by press molding,and FIG. 6b is a view illustrating a configuration in which a branchingposition of the cured prepreg is seen through.

FIG. 7a is a view illustrating a branching gap member of a firstmodification example of the first embodiment, FIG. 7b is a viewillustrating a branching gap member of a second modification example,and FIG. 7c is a view illustrating a branching gap member of a thirdmodification example.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged view illustrating a branching position of afishing line guide according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a view illustrating press molding for forming the fishing lineguide according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 10 is an enlarged view illustrating a branching position of afishing line guide according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 11 is an enlarged view illustrating a branching position of afishing line guide according to the related art.

FIG. 12 is a view illustrating an example of a modification example of aleg portion of a fishing line guide.

FIG. 13 is a view illustrating an external configuration of a fishingrod that includes a fishing line guide according to a fourth embodiment.

FIG. 14a is a view illustrating an external configuration of the fishingline guide of the embodiment, and FIG. 14b is a view illustrating across-sectional configuration of the fishing line guide.

FIG. 15 is a partial cross-sectional structural view illustrating alaminated structure in which a bent part of the fishing line guide isenlarged.

FIG. 16 is a partial cross-sectional structural view in which an area Aof FIG. 15 is enlarged.

FIG. 17 is a conceptual view illustrating a plurality of laminated fibersheets and a gap sealing member before press molding.

FIGS. 18a and 18b are views illustrating examples of external shapes ofthe gap sealing member.

FIG. 19a is a conceptual view illustrating press molding-basedmanufacturing for forming a frame main body, and FIG. 19b is a fibersheet including the frame main body that is formed.

FIG. 20 is a view illustrating a partially enlarged cross-sectionalstructure corresponding to an area A of the fishing line guide of therelated art in which a gap is generated at a reinforcement part.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described indetail with reference to the drawings.

First Embodiment

FIG. 1 is a view illustrating an external configuration of a fishing rodthat includes a fishing line guide according to an embodiment of thepresent invention, FIG. 2 is a view illustrating an externalconfiguration of the fishing line guide according to the firstembodiment, and FIG. 3 is a view illustrating a cross-sectionalstructure of the fishing line guide.

A fishing rod 1 of this embodiment may be a type of fishing rod where adouble-axis reel (or a bait reel), which is not illustrated herein, maybe mounted on a reel seat 3 of a bat 2. A plurality of fishing lineguides 5 may be disposed apart from each other on an upper surface of arod main body 4, and a top guide 6 may be disposed at a rod tip. In thefollowing description, a rod tip side of the fishing rod is referred toas the front, and a rod back side is referred to as the rear.

The fishing line guide 5 may be configured to have a frame 8 that may beformed of a fiber-reinforced resin material impregnated with a resin,which will be described later, and a guide ring 7 that may be formed ofSiC or the like. The guide ring 7 may be fitted into a ring-shaped ringholding section (fishing line guide section) 8 a that may be disposed inan upper portion of the frame 8. In each of the embodiments includingthe followings, the ring holding section 8 a may have an annular shapesuch as circular, elliptic, elongated circular, and oblong shapes, andend portions thereof may include all ends on a circumferential end suchas an upper end, a lower end, and a side end.

FIG. 2 illustrates the fishing line guide 5 that may have, for example,two-legged supporting leg portions 8 b and 8 c. The supporting legportions 8 b and 8 c may have a height (length) to separate a fishingline (fly line) by a predetermined distance from the fishing rod. Of twolegs of the fishing line guide illustrated in FIG. 3 in the descriptionof this embodiment, the leg that may substantially linearly extend fromthe ring holding section (fishing line guide section) 8 a to beconnected to a fixed portion may be referred to as a main leg portion(first leg portion) 8 c which may be fixed to the rod. In addition, theleg that may branch from the other ring holding section 8 a to beconnected to the fixed portion may be referred to as an auxiliary legportion (second leg portion) 8 b which may support the main leg portion8 c and may prevent line entanglement. The fishing line guide 5 may fixany one of the leg portions toward the rod tip or a rod back, and amain/auxiliary relationship between the leg portions may not be limited.

The main leg portion 8 c may extend along a frame surface from any twopositions of the ring holding section 8 a, may form a V shape bythinning for reduction in weight, and may be bent horizontally to beconnected to a fixed portion 8 e. The auxiliary leg portion 8 b maybranch at a branching position A obliquely downward from any twopositions of the ring holding section 8 a, may form a V shape to performguide to prevent the entanglement of the fishing line, and may be benthorizontally to be connected to a fixed portion 8 d. Each of the fixedportions 8 d and 8 e may be placed at a predetermined position of thefishing rod and may fix the line by winding the line, and a wrapping orcoating treatment may be performed by using a resin or the like from aline surface.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view illustrating the branching positionof the fishing line guide. As illustrated in FIG. 4, the frame 8 may beformed through abutting and thermosetting of a laminated sheet 11 (firstfiber-reinforced resin layer), a laminated sheet 12 (secondfiber-reinforced resin layer), and a laminated sheet 13 (thirdfiber-reinforced resin layer) in which a plurality of prepregs arelaminated. The prepregs may be sheet members aligned such that multiplereinforced fibers such as carbon fibers may be arranged in the samedirection or may be woven by plain weaving or the like and may beimpregnated with a matrix resin which may be cured by thermalprocessing. The sheet members may be overlapped by combining fiberdirections of the reinforced fibers into a plurality of directions suchthat the frame 8 may have a strength based on a design value. In thiscase, the strength in a direction along the fiber direction increases.In a case where the prepreg in which the reinforced fiber is woven bythe plain weaving or the like is used, a weaving width thereof may benarrower than a width of a frame site whose finished dimension is aminimum width, for example, a width of the auxiliary leg portion 8 b.

In addition, it is preferable that the main leg portion 8 c and theauxiliary leg portion 8 b have a bending radius (R) at the branchingposition A at which no damage such as folding may be caused to at leastthe reinforced fiber. The degree may vary depending on materials of thereinforced fibers that may be used, fiber diameters, fiber arrangementdirections (alignment directions), and the like, and may be variousvalues. In a case of use in the guide, it is preferable that the radiusR be larger than t1 and t2 and, for example, the radius R be at least 2mm when the main leg portion 8 c has a layer thickness t1 and theauxiliary leg portion 8 b has a layer thickness t2.

A glass fiber, an aramid fiber, a metal fiber, a synthetic resin fiber,or the like can be used as well as the carbon fiber as the reinforcedfiber of this embodiment. In addition, a thermoset resin or athermoplastic resin can be employed as the matrix resin. For example, anepoxy resin, a polyamide resin, a phenolic resin, an unsaturatedpolyester resin, and the like can be used. As a branching gap member 14,an ABS resin, a synthetic rubber, a foaming material, and the like canbe employed as other members although not having such a high rigidity asthe matrix resin. It is preferable that the other members be a membernot dissolved at a curing temperature of the matrix resin. By a materialwhose rigidity may be lower than the fiber-reinforced resin layerforming the frame, the guide may be likely to be easily deformed and maybe unlikely to be damaged.

The above-described branching position A illustrated in FIG. 11 may bebonded and thermoset such that the three sets of laminated sheets 11,12, and 13 abut against each other from three directions. A branchingposition A according to the related art may have a gap generated or maybe sealed as an extra resin may ooze out.

In a case where the mounted fishing rod is bent, either one of a firsteffect of the two legs being narrowed therebetween and the fishing linepulling up the ring holding section 8 a from the fixed portion in aseparation direction (of pulling the supporting leg portion) and asecond effect of the two legs being expanded therebetween and thefishing line pressing the ring holding section 8 a in a downwarddirection to a fixed portion side may be generated at the branchingposition A. In other words, when the fishing line guide is arranged on alower side of the fishing rod and a spinning reel may be used in thefishing rod, the first effect may work in a case where a load is imposedfor the fishing line to be bent downward. When the fishing line guide isarranged on an upper side of the fishing rod and a double-axis reel maybe used in the fishing rod, the second effect may work in a case where aload is imposed for the fishing line to be bent downward. According tothese effects, the load imposed on the fishing line may be changed tochange a bent state of the fishing rod and the load imposed directlyfrom the fishing line may be changed as well, and thus the load changingin terms of strength or vibration may be imposed on the fishing lineguide 5. Because of these loads, a pressing force or a peel-off forcemay work on respective bonding surfaces of the three sets of thelaminated sheets 11, 12, and 13 at the branching position A.

As illustrated in FIG. 4 in this embodiment, the branching gap member 14that may be formed of the same resin material as the sheet member isintegrally disposed so as to fill a gap of the branching position A. Thebranching gap member 14 may be adhered (welded) to each of the bondingsurfaces of the laminated sheets 11, 12, and 13, and thus a forceworking between the bonding surfaces can be alleviated. In addition,peeling or cracking that may be generated between the bonding surfacesof the laminated sheets may be prevented.

FIG. 5 is a conceptual view illustrating press molding-basedmanufacturing for forming the fishing line guide according to thisembodiment, FIG. 6a is a view illustrating an external configuration ofa cured prepreg molded article including the fishing line guidemanufactured by press molding, and FIG. 6b is a view illustrating aconfiguration in which a branching position of the cured prepreg moldedarticle is seen through.

The molding of the fishing line guide 5 by using the laminated sheets11, 12, and 13 including the branching gap member 14 will be describedwith reference to FIGS. 4 and 5.

In this embodiment, the laminated sheets 11, 12, and 13 in which theplurality of thin prepregs are laminated may be loaded on respectivemolds 21, 22, and 23 for the press molding. Concave portions for settingthe laminated sheets may be disposed on surfaces of these molds. Holdingof the loaded laminated sheets 11 and 12 toward the molds 21 and 22 maybe performed by using a mechanical component such as a metal claw or maybe electrically performed through electrostatic adsorption or the like.A releasing agent may be applied such that the laminated sheet may beeasily removed after the molding.

Next, the molds 21, 22, and 23 may be allowed to abut against each otherat a predetermined position as illustrated in FIG. 5 by using aprocessing device (not illustrated). In this case, the branching gapmember 14 may be inserted such that convex portions (tip parts) of therespective molds may be pinched at a facing position (branchingposition). The branching gap member 14 may have a rod shape to have alength exceeding widths of the laminated sheets, and may use atriangular cross-sectional shape similar to an internal shape of thebranching position. The cross-section of the branching gap member 14 maybe rectangular, but it is preferable that the cross-section have a shapein contact with the respective laminated sheets at a plane or a curvedplane so as to prevent a corner part of the branching gap member 14damaging the laminated sheets during pressurization in a thermalprocessing-based treatment.

A prepreg molded article 20 may be removed from the cooled molds 21, 22,and 23. The thermoset prepreg molded article 20 including the frame 8may be formed as illustrated in FIG. 6a . In addition, at the branchingposition A, a resin member 14 may be dissolved to block the gap and maybe formed to be adhered to the respective laminated sheets asillustrated in FIG. 6 b.

The frame 8 may be cut from the prepreg molded article. Examples ofmethods for the cutting that can be used may include devices using alaser beam, water jet, or a cutting tool such as a laser processingdevice, a water jet processing device, and a resin NC processing device.The method for cutting the frame 8 may not be particularly limited.

When the cutting is performed, curved surface processing may beperformed for a bottom surface of the fixed portion to sit well on therod main body and groove processing may be performed such that imposingof a fixing line may be improved on an upper surface of the fixedportion. In addition, chamfering and barrel polishing may be performedon the frame 8 so as to prevent breakage from respective edges and toremove burrs. Furthermore, a film treatment for surface protection maybe performed at a thickness entailing no increase in weight by using amember with hardness (for example, ceramic, glass, or a metal havingcorrosion resistance (from salt water)). A physical vapor layer growthtechnique (PVD: vapor deposition method, sputtering method, or the like)or a chemical vapor layer growth technique (CVD: CVD method) can be usedfor the film forming.

Then, the guide ring 7 may be fitted into the ring holding section 8 aof the completed frame 8 by using a usual technique to be fixed by usingan adhesive or the like. In addition, depending on the load from thefishing rod that may be used and the type of the fishing line, the guidering may not be required but a ring holding section inner surface may bepolishing-processed into a mirror shape, surface processing may beperformed for a hard member to be laminated, and processing may beperformed to facilitate guiding of the fishing line.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the resin member 14formed of the resin material may be integrally disposed at a center ofthe branching position A of the frame 8 to be adhered to or seal thebonding surface of each of the laminated sheets 11, 12, and 13, and thusthe force working between the bonding surfaces can be alleviated.Moreover, the peeling or cracking that may be generated between thebonding surfaces of the respective laminated sheets, which may be causedby the load on the fishing line and an effect of bending of the rod, canbe prevented.

Modification Examples of First Embodiment

Next, a first modification example of the first embodiment will bedescribed.

In the above-described first embodiment, the branching gap member 14that may be formed only of the resin member may be configured to beinserted into the branching position. However, in the first modificationexample, a branching gap member 16 that may contain a reinforced fiber15 may be used as illustrated in FIG. 7a . A plurality of the reinforcedfibers 15 may be put along a direction in which the branching gap member16 may extend to have strength in a width direction of the frame 8.

In a second modification example as illustrated in FIG. 7b , a prepreg17 containing the reinforced fibers 15 may be used as the branching gapmember in a triangularly zigzag manner in the fiber arrangementdirection. Alternatively, the prepreg 17 may be used after beingelongatedly cut and laminated in the fiber arrangement direction.

Furthermore, in a third modification example as illustrated in FIG. 7c ,a prepreg 18 containing the reinforced fibers 15 may be used after beingrounded to fit a size of the gap.

According to these modification examples, the same effects as in theabove-described first embodiment can be achieved. Furthermore, it ispossible to provide a fishing line guide whose strength may be increasedby the reinforced fiber.

Second Embodiment

FIG. 8 is an enlarged view illustrating a branching position of afishing line guide according to a second embodiment. FIG. 9 is a viewillustrating press molding for forming the fishing line guide accordingto this embodiment. In this embodiment, the same reference numerals areattached to the same sites as in the above-described first embodimentand description thereof will be omitted.

A fishing line guide 31 according to this embodiment may have astructure in which a gap 32 forming the same shape may be formedintentionally at the branching position A of the leg portion under acondition satisfying design performances (manufacturing standards).Despite the fishing line guide satisfying the performance as describedabove, a user may consider the presence of the gap as defective in acase where the abundance ratio of the gap are not constant. Accordingly,in this embodiment, the gap of the same shape may be intentionallyformed at the branching position to reduce the variation of theabundance ratio of the gap.

As illustrated in FIG. 8, the gap 32 may be disposed at the branchingposition A of the fishing line guide 31 to have a shape matching with afacing state of respective surfaces of the three laminated sheets 11,12, and 13, which may be a substantially triangular or circular shape inthis embodiment. Since the gap may be disposed, a branching portion mayhave small rigidity, may be likely to be deformed, may be likely tofollow the bending of the rod, and may be unlikely to be damaged.

FIG. 9 illustrates molding of the fishing line guide 31 for forming thegap 32.

As is the case with the above-described first embodiment, the laminatedsheets 11, 12, and 13 where the prepregs are laminated may be loaded ata predetermined position of the molds 21, 22, and 23 for the pressmolding. Then, the molds 21, 22, and 23 may be allowed to abut againsteach other at a predetermined position by using a processing device asillustrated in FIG. 9. In this case, a punching die 33 may be insertedsuch that the convex portions (tip parts) of the respective molds may bepinched at a facing position (branching position). The punching die 33may be a rod member whose cross-section may form a circular shape(cylindrical shape), and may be formed of metal or the like. Pressingand thermal processing may be performed by the molds 21, 22, and 23 in astate where the punching die 33 is inserted. In this heat treatment, aresin may melt out from the respective laminated sheets and be filledsuch that a gap between the punching die 33 and the laminated sheets 11,12, and 13 may be blocked.

The prepreg molded article 20 that may be the same as illustrated inFIG. 6a may be removed from the cooled molds 21, 22, and 23. Thepunching die 33 may be pulled out from the thermoset prepreg moldedarticle 20. Then, as is the case with the first embodiment, the framemay be cut from the prepreg molded article.

According to this embodiment, it is possible to provide the fishing lineguide 31 in which the gap having a uniform shape may be disposed at thebranching position. Accordingly, there can be a constant abundance ratioof gaps with different shapes at the branching position, and a situationof being considered as defective by the user can be prevented. Inaddition, since the gap has the uniform shape, design for reduction inweight can be taken. In addition, since the gap is standardized, thebranching portion may have small rigidity, may be likely to be deformed,may be likely to follow the bending of the rod, and may be unlikely tobe damaged.

Modification Example of Second Embodiment

As a modification example, a triangular prism-shaped mold frame memberthat may have a hollow inner portion and may be formed of a resin may beused instead of the metallic punching die 33. The resin material thatmay be used in the mold frame member may be selected from materialswhich may not be deformed or dissolved during heat curing of theprepregs. A thin metal that may have corrosion resistance to salt or thelike can be used. It is preferable that the mold frame member have ahollow and triangular prism shape, but the shape is not limited thereto.Instead, the shape may be a hollow ring shape such as a hollow circularshape and an oblong shape insofar as the shape is in contact withsurfaces of the laminated sheets.

According to this modification example, the cutting of the frame can beperformed without being pulled out from the thermoset prepreg moldedarticle since the mold frame member may be used. In this manner, themanufacturing process may be simplified.

Third Embodiment

FIG. 10 is an enlarged view illustrating a branching position of afishing line guide according to a third embodiment. In this embodiment,the same reference numerals are attached to the same members as in theabove-described first embodiment and description thereof will beomitted. A load imposed on a fishing rod whose fishing target may besmall fish may be relatively small. Accordingly, no substantial strengthmay be required for the fishing line guide as well, and there may be acase where reduction in weight is required the most.

In a fishing line guide 41 according to this embodiment, a laminatedsheet (first fiber-reinforced resin layer) and a laminated sheet 12(second fiber-reinforced resin layer) branch into two supporting legportions (main leg portion 8 b and auxiliary leg portion 8 c) from thebranching position A below the ring holding section to be connected to afixed portion (not illustrated). At the branching position A, abranching gap member 42 may be attached during thermosetting processingof the laminated sheets 11 and 12 to be dissolved on and fixed tosurfaces of the respective leg portions. The branching gap member 42 maybe formed of the above-described thermoset resin or thermoplastic resinof the same material as the fishing rod, and may contain a plurality ofreinforced fibers. In addition, a prepreg may be used.

According to this embodiment, the branching gap member 42 may bedisposed at the branching position of the supporting leg portion, andthus splitting or peeling of the laminated sheets 11 and 12 can beprevented. Furthermore, this is suitable for a fishing line guide thatmay be mounted on the fishing rod with the relatively small load whosefishing target may be the small fish, and further reduction in weightcan be achieved.

In each of the above-described embodiments, the fishing line guide thatmay include the two-legged fixed portion has been described. However,this can be applied to a guide including a branching position and canalso be applied in the same manner to a branching position of a topguide mounted on a rod tip to achieve the same effect.

As described above, according to each of the embodiments of the presentinvention, it is possible to provide a fishing line guide that may besuitable for a fishing rod reduced in weight owing to advancement offishing rod manufacturing techniques. In other words, not only may theweight of a rod as a whole be increased but also a weight balance of afishing rod as a whole may be deteriorated in a case where multiplefishing line guides having a metal frame is mounted on a fishing rodreduced in weight.

Herein, multiple fishing line guides that may be small (compared to abase rod side) may be mounted on the rod tip side at a narrower gap. Therod tip side may tend to be heavy in view of the weight balance of therod itself compared to the fishing rod having a structure according tothe related art and a casting acceleration difference of the rod tip maycause handling to be difficult during a long cast in the fishing rodwhich may use a spinning reel. In the fishing rod that may use thespinning reel, examples of which may include a throwing rod cast longfrom a seashore with a length of over 4 m, it is desired that a flyingdistance be extended if possible. Accordingly, the flying distance maybe affected by a casting speed of the rod tip along with a suppleflexibility of the fishing rod and thus a long cast operation may begreatly affected by a flexural condition of the rod, reduction inweight, and the weight balance.

Regarding this problem, it is possible to achieve reduction in weight ofthe rod as a whole and achieve an increase in speed of the casting ofthe rod tip with the same throwing method as before without greatlychanging the weight balance of the rod by employing the fishing lineguide to which each of the above-described embodiments is applied.

Furthermore, since the frame of the fishing line guide may be formed byusing the resin material which may be similar to the material of thefishing rod, the frame may be deformed following the bending of the rodwhen fixed to the rod, and thus it is possible to achieve a desiredbending condition of the rod without damaging the supple flexibility ofthe fishing rod compared to the fishing line guide having the metalframe.

In each of the above-described embodiments, the first and second legportions may extend independently of each other from end portions ofdifferent positions of the ring holding section (fishing line guidesection) 8 a, but the present invention may not be limited thereto. Forexample, the first and second leg portions may be configured to extendindependently of each other from an end portion of the same position ofthe ring holding section (fishing line guide section) 8 a.

Furthermore, as illustrated in FIG. 12, one of the leg portions may beconfigured to branch and extend from the other one of the leg portions.For example, the second leg portion 8 b may be disposed to branch from amiddle of the first leg portion 8 c which may extend from the ringholding section (fishing line guide section) 8 a formed by the laminatedsheet 11 and the laminated sheet 12. In this case, the branchingposition A may be generated between the first leg portion 8 c and thesecond leg portion 8 b. Even in such a configuration, it is possible toprovide a fishing line guide in which the resin member may be filled inthe gap of the branching position or the gap of the uniform shape may bedisposed at the branching position by applying the first to thirdembodiments described above.

The second embodiment of the present invention may include the followinggists.

(1) A fishing line guide in which an annular fishing line guide section,a first leg portion extending from an end portion of the fishing lineguide section and having a fixed portion disposed at a tip, and a secondleg portion branching and extending from the fishing line guide sectionand having a fixed portion disposed at a tip are integrally configured,the fishing line guide including a first fiber-reinforced resin layerwhere a plurality of sheet-shaped synthetic resins containing reinforcedfibers are laminated to form the fishing line guide section and thefirst leg portion, a second fiber-reinforced resin layer where thesynthetic resins forming the fishing line guide section and the secondleg portion are laminated to be fixed to the first fiber-reinforcedresin layer between the fishing line guide section and the branchingposition, a third fiber-reinforced resin layer where the syntheticresins are laminated to reach from the first leg portion to the secondleg portion through the branching position and be fixed to the firstfiber-reinforced resin layer and the second fiber-reinforced resinlayer, in which a gap surrounded by the first fiber-reinforced resinlayer to the third fiber-reinforced resin layer and forming apredetermined shape is disposed at the branching position.

(2) The fishing line guide according to (1), in which the gap is formedby interposing a punching die during thermosetting processing of thefirst fiber-reinforced resin layer to the third fiber-reinforced resinlayer.

(3) The fishing line guide according to (1), in which the gap is formedof a resin material or a metal material that is inserted into thebranching position during the thermosetting processing of the firstfiber-reinforced resin layer to the third fiber-reinforced resin layerand is not deformed or dissolved during heating.

Fourth Embodiment

FIG. 13 is a view illustrating an external configuration of a fishingrod that includes a fishing line guide according to a fourth embodiment.FIG. 14a is a view illustrating an external configuration of the fishingline guide of this embodiment, and FIG. 14b is a view illustrating across-sectional configuration of the fishing line guide. FIG. 15 is apartial cross-sectional structural view illustrating a laminatedstructure in which a bent part of the fishing line guide is enlarged.FIG. 16 is a partial cross-sectional structural view in which an area Aof FIG. 15 is enlarged.

A fishing rod 101 according to this embodiment may be a type of fishingrod where a double-axis reel (or a bait reel), which is not illustratedherein, may be mounted on a reel seat 103 of a bat 102. A plurality offishing line guides 105 may be disposed apart from each other on anupper surface of a fishing rod main body 104, and a top guide 106 may bedisposed at a rod tip. In the following description, a rod tip side ofthe fishing rod is referred to as the front, and a rod back side isreferred to as the rear.

The fishing line guide 105 may be configured to have a frame main body107 that may be formed of a fiber-reinforced resin sheet (hereinafterreferred to as a fiber sheet) in which linearly extending reinforcedfibers may be lined up and may be impregnated with a resin material,which may be a so-called prepreg, and a ring-shaped guide ring 108 thatmay be formed of SiC or the like.

The fiber sheets according to this embodiment may be sheet members inwhich multiple linearly-extending reinforced fibers such as carbonfibers may be arranged in the same direction or may be woven by plainweaving or the like and may be impregnated with a matrix resin which maybe cured by thermal processing. A thermoset resin or a thermoplasticresin can be employed as the matrix resin. For example, an epoxy resin,a polyamide resin, a phenolic resin, an unsaturated polyester resin, andthe like can be used. It is preferable that other members be a membernot dissolved at a curing temperature of the matrix resin. A glassfiber, an aramid fiber, a metal fiber, a synthetic resin fiber, or thelike can be used as well as the carbon fiber as the reinforced fiber ofthis embodiment.

The frame main body 107 may be configured such that a ring-shaped ringholding section (fishing line guide section) 107 a that may be disposedon an upper side, a supporting leg portion 107 b that may support thering holding section 107 a, and a fixed portion 107 c that may be bentfrom the supporting leg portion 107 b to be mounted on the fishing rodmain body 104 illustrated in FIG. 13 may be integrated. The guide ring108 may be fitted into and fixed to the ring holding section 107 a. Thering holding section 107 a may have any annular shape such as circular,elliptic, elongated circular, and oblong shapes.

The supporting leg portion 107 b may have a height (length) to separatea fishing line (fly line) by a predetermined distance from the fishingrod. The supporting leg portion 107 b may form a V shape from twopositions below the ring holding section 107 a and may be benthorizontally to be connected to the fixed portion 107 c. The V shape ofthe supporting leg portion 107 b may be a shape generated by hollowingout an inner portion into a substantially triangular shape to beunlikely to affect strength and achieve reduction in weight. As such,the supporting leg portion 107 b may not necessarily have the V shape.The fixed portion 107 c may be placed at a predetermined position of thefishing rod and may fix the line by winding the line, and a wrapping orcoating treatment may be performed by using a resin or the like from aline surface.

As illustrated in FIGS. 15 and 16, the frame main body 107 may beintegrally configured such that, for example, fiber sheets 110 b to 110g may be laminated, a short-width reinforcing fiber sheet 110 a whichmay cover from a lower surface of the sheet to a bent part may beattached from a lower surface side, and fiber sheets 109 a and 109 b maybe laminated on an outermost surface such that both upper and lowersurfaces of the short-width fiber sheet 110 a, the fiber sheet 110 b,and the fiber sheet 110 g may be covered. Basically, the fiber sheets109 a, 109 b, and 110 b to 110 g may be the same members such asfiber-reinforced resin sheets. The number of the above-described fibersheets may be a number based on strength which may be required in designand may not be particularly limited. In addition, a gap m (FIG. 20) thatmay be present between the above-described fiber sheet 109 a and theshort-width fiber sheet 110 a may be filled and blocked by a gap sealingmember 111 which may be formed of the same material as the fiber sheets,which will be described later.

FIG. 17 is a conceptual view illustrating the plurality of laminatedfiber sheets and the gap sealing member before press molding. FIGS. 18aand 18b are views illustrating the gap sealing member. FIG. 19a is aconceptual view illustrating press molding-based manufacturing of theframe main body 107, and FIG. 19b is a view illustrating an externalconfiguration of a fiber sheet that is integrally formed.

According to this configuration as illustrated in FIG. 17, therectangular fiber sheets 110 b to 110 g that may be cores may belaminated and the short-width reinforcing fiber sheet 110 a which maycover from the fixed portion 107 c of the lower surface of the sheet tothe bent part may be attached. Furthermore, the gap sealing member 111may be arranged to be connected to an upper end of the short-width fibersheet 110 a, and the fiber sheets 109 a and 109 b that may be arrangedon surfaces of both of the upper and lower surfaces thereof may berespectively laminated. These laminated fiber sheet 115, as illustratedin FIG. 19a , may be set in a concave portion of a mold 112, may beheated while being pressed by a mold 113, and may be integrally formedto be adhered to each other as resins of the respective fiber sheets maybe dissolved.

Herein, the gap sealing member 111 illustrated in FIGS. 18a and 18b willbe described.

The gap sealing member 111 illustrated in FIG. 18a may be a member thatmay seal the gap m which may be generated between the fiber sheet 109 a,the fiber sheet 110 a, and the fiber sheet 110 b described above. Thegap sealing member 111 may have the same structure as the fiber sheetsand may form a prismatic shape in which multiple reinforced fibers maybe arranged in the same straight-line direction as illustrated in FIG.18 a.

The gap sealing member 111 may be arranged at the upper end of the fibersheet 110 a illustrated in FIG. 17, and may be pressed by each of thefiber sheet 109 a, the fiber sheet 110 a, and the fiber sheet 110 bduring the pressing and heating processing and dissolution to match witha substantially triangular shape of the gap m such that each of thereinforced fibers may be moved. In other words, pressing from each ofsheet surfaces 109 a and 110 b and a sheet end portion 110 a that may begenerated by pressing of the mold may work in a direction orthogonal toa fiber arrangement direction of the gap sealing member 111, and thedissolved and fluidic reinforced fiber of the gap sealing member 111 maybe moved along with the resin material. By changing this cross-sectionalshape, adhesion may cause no gap or lifting with each of the sheetsurfaces, and the gap m may be sealed through integral solidification.

In addition, the gap sealing member 111 illustrated in FIG. 18a may havea prismatic shape, but the gap sealing member may be a cylindrical gapsealing member 114 illustrated in FIG. 18b . The shape may not beparticularly limited insofar as a substantially triangular gap isblocked. Moreover, the gap sealing member 111 can be a wound or foldedthin fiber sheet.

In addition, holding of the loaded fiber sheet 115 toward the mold 112may be performed by using a mechanical component such as a metal claw ormay be electrically performed through electrostatic adsorption or thelike. A releasing agent may be applied such that the fiber sheet 115 maybe easily removed after the molding.

Then, as illustrated in FIG. 19b , the integrally formed fiber sheet(prepreg molded article) 115 may be removed from the cooled molds 112and 113. The frame main body 107 may be cut from the bent andplate-shaped fiber sheet 115. Examples of methods for the cutting thatcan be used may include devices using a laser beam, water jet, or acutting tool such as a laser processing device, a water jet processingdevice, and a resin NC processing device. In this manner, known methodsmay be employed as the technique for cutting the frame main body 107,and the method may not be particularly limited.

Furthermore, when the cutting is performed, curved surface processingmay be performed for a bottom surface of the fixed portion 107 c to sitwell on the rod main body and groove processing may be performed suchthat imposing of a fixing line may be improved on an upper surface ofthe fixed portion.

In addition, chamfering, tapering, and barrel polishing may be performedon the frame main body 107 so as to prevent cracking from respectiveedges and to remove burrs. Furthermore, a film treatment for surfaceprotection may be performed at a thickness entailing no increase inweight by using a member with hardness (for example, ceramic, glass, ora metal having corrosion resistance (from salt water)). A physical vaporlayer growth technique (PVD: vapor deposition method, sputtering method,or the like) or a chemical vapor layer growth technique (CVD: CVDmethod) can be used for the film forming.

Then, the guide ring 108 may be fitted into the ring holding section 107a of the completed frame main body 107 by using a usual technique to befixed by using an adhesive or the like. In addition, depending on theload from the fishing rod that may be used and the type of the fishingline, the guide ring may not be required but a ring holding sectioninner surface may be polishing-processed into a mirror shape, surfaceprocessing may be performed for a hard member to be laminated, andprocessing may be performed to facilitate guiding of the fishing line.

According to this embodiment as illustrated above, the gap can be sealedby blocking the gap generated by the end portion of the additional fibersheet with the gap sealing member which may be formed of a fiber sheetmember such that the fixed portion 107 c of the frame main body 107 maybe strengthened. As such, variations in strength properties that may beattributed to the gap can be prevented even when the reinforcing memberhaving the end portion in the laminated inner portion of the frame mainbody is added. Furthermore, finishing on a fishing line guide sidesurface may be improved, and an external appearance may be improved aswell. In this embodiment, the gap generated by the end portion of thefiber sheet used to reinforce the fixed portion 107 c has been describedas an example, but the present invention may be applied to sealing ofgaps at other positions such as a gap generated on a boundary with thesupporting leg portion during reinforcement of the ring holding section.

In addition, in this embodiment, the fishing line guide that may haveone supporting leg has been illustrated as an example, but the presentinvention may not be limited thereto and can be applied to any positioninsofar as the gap is generated by the end portion of the additionalfiber sheet for reinforcement or the like, and may be embodied in thesame manner with ease for fishing line guides having two or moresupporting legs. In a case where the fishing line guide is employed in afishing rod reduced in weight, the reduction in weight of the fishingrod may not be hampered but the reduction in weight of the fishing rodas a whole may be achieved.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

-   -   1 FISHING ROD    -   2 BAT    -   3 REEL SEAT    -   4 ROD MAIN BODY    -   5, 31 FISHING LINE GUIDE    -   6 TOP GUIDE    -   7 GUIDE RING    -   8 FRAME    -   8 a RING HOLDING SECTION    -   8 b AUXILIARY LEG PORTION    -   8 c MAIN LEG PORTION    -   8 d, 8 e FIXED PORTION    -   11, 12, 13 LAMINATED SHEET    -   14, 16 BRANCHING GAP MEMBER    -   17,18 PREPREG    -   19 CENTRAL PART    -   20 PREPREG MOLDED ARTICLE    -   21, 22, 23 MOLD    -   32 GAP    -   33 PUNCHING DIE    -   101 FISHING ROD    -   102 BAT    -   103 REEL SEAT    -   104 ROD MAIN BODY    -   105 FISHING LINE GUIDE    -   106 TOP GUIDE    -   107 FRAME MAIN BODY    -   107 a RING HOLDING SECTION    -   107 b SUPPORTING LEG PORTION    -   107 c FIXED PORTION    -   108 GUIDE RING    -   109 a, 109 b, 110 b to 110 g FIBER-REINFORCED RESIN SHEET (FIBER        SHEET: PREPREG)    -   110 a SHORT-WIDTH FIBER SHEET    -   111, 114 GAP SEALING MEMBER (FIBER SHEET)    -   112, 113 MOLD

The invention claimed is:
 1. A fishing line guide with a frame main bodyin which a plurality of fiber sheets in which a plurality of reinforcedfibers are arranged and impregnated with a resin material having eitherthermosetting properties or a thermoplastic properties are laminated,the plurality of fiber sheets including a) fiber sheets that reach anend surface of the frame main body and (b) a short-width fiber sheetprovided between the fiber sheets and extending along an extensiondirection of the frame main body but having an edge on an end portionthereof that does not reach the end surface of the frame main body suchthat the short-width fiber sheet is embedded in the frame main body, theend portion of the short-width fiber sheet is in the frame main body,and the edge of the end portion is contained in a lamination of theplurality of fiber sheets, the frame main body comprising: an annularfishing line guide section guiding a fishing line; a supporting legportion extending from an end portion of the fishing line guide section;and a fixed portion bent and extending from a tip side of the supportingleg portion; wherein a gap sealing member is embedded in the frame mainbody such that the gap sealing member is surrounded on its sides by theplurality of fiber sheets and is arranged to: abut along an edge surfaceof the edge of the end portion of the short-width fiber sheet,impregnate the reinforced fiber arranged along an extension direction ofa surface of the short-width fiber sheet with the resin material, andfill and block a gap generated between the edge surface of the endportion of the short-width fiber sheet and the fiber sheets laminated onupper and lower sides of the short-width fiber sheet by changing across-sectional shape of the gap sealing member during pressing andheating toward the frame main body to match a shape of the gap such thatthe gap is sealed by the gap sealing member.
 2. The fishing line guideaccording to claim 1, wherein the short-width fiber sheet is areinforcing member applied between the tip of the fixed portion and abent part.
 3. A fishing rod comprising a plurality of fishing lineguides mounted on the fishing rod, each of the plurality of fishing lineguides comprising a frame main body in which a plurality of fiber sheetsin which a plurality of reinforced fibers are arranged and impregnatedwith a resin material having either thermosetting properties or athermoplastic properties are laminated, the plurality of fiber sheetsincluding (a) fiber sheets that reach an end surface of the frame mainbody and (b) a short-width fiber sheet provided between the fiber sheetsand extending along an extension direction of the frame main body buthaving an edge on an end portion thereof that does not reach the endsurface of the frame main body, the end portion of the short-width fibersheet is in the frame main body, and the edge of the end portion iscontained in a lamination of the plurality of fiber sheets, the framemain body comprising: an annular fishing line guide section guiding afishing line; a supporting leg portion extending from an end portion ofthe fishing line guide section; and a fixed portion bent and extendingfrom a tip side of the supporting leg portion; and wherein a gap sealingmember is embedded in the frame main body such that the gap sealingmember is surrounded on its sides by the plurality of fiber sheets andis arrange to: abut along an edge surface of the end portion of theshort-width fiber sheet, impregnate the reinforced fiber arranged alongthe extension direction of the surface of the end portion of theshort-width fiber sheet with the resin material, and fill and block agap generated between the edge surface of the end portion of theshort-width fiber sheet and fiber sheets laminated on upper and lowersides of the short-width fiber sheet by changing a cross-sectional shapeof the gap sealing member during pressing and heating toward the framemain body to match a shape of the gap such that the gap is sealed by thegap sealing member.
 4. A fishing line guide comprising a fishing lineguide section guiding a fishing line along a fishing rod, a first legportion extending in a first direction from an end portion of thefishing line guide section and having a fixed portion disposed at a tip,and a second leg portion branching from either one of the end portion ofthe fishing line guide section and the first leg portion to extend in asecond direction and having a fixed portion disposed at a tip areintegrally configured, the fishing line guide comprising: a firstfiber-reinforced resin sheet, a second fiber-reinforced resin sheet, anda third fiber-reinforced resin sheet; each sheet comprising a laminatedstructure with a flat bonding surface, the laminated structurecomprising a plurality of sheet-shaped synthetic resins containingreinforced fibers that are laminated together, where the laminatedstructure of the first fiber-reinforced resin sheet forms the fishingline guide section and the first leg portion; where the laminatedstructure of the second fiber-reinforced resin sheet is fixed to thefirst fiber-reinforced resin sheet via their flat bonding surfaces, thesecond fiber-reinforced resin sheet branching to a branching positionfrom which the second leg portion branches; where the laminatedstructure of the third fiber-reinforced resin sheet extends from thefirst leg portion to the second leg portion through the branchingposition and is fixed to the first fiber-reinforced resin sheet and thesecond fiber-reinforced resin sheet via its flat bonding surface; and abranching gap member disposed in a gap that is formed at the branchingposition and is surrounded by the first fiber-reinforced resin sheet,the second fiber-reinforced sheet, and the third fiber-reinforced sheet,the branching gap member being surrounded by each of the flat bondingsurfaces of the first fiber-reinforced resin sheet, the secondfiber-reinforced resin sheet, and the third fiber-reinforced resin sheetand positioned at the branching position, wherein the first direction isa forward direction along the fishing rod, wherein the second directionis a backward direction along the fishing rod, and wherein the first legportion has an opening region of a V shape provided below the fishingline guide section.